Project Bridge
Project Description:
Project Bridge is the attempt at Olcott Memorial High School (O.M.H.S.),
Chennai –90 to bridge the digital divide. This is an ever widening divide
between the children of the less privileged sections of society, whose access
to computer and information technology is almost nil as opposed to the ever
widening digital usage by their counterparts from the more privileged sections
of society.
Olcott Memorial High School is a school that has 750 children from the poorest
sections of society. The school caters to children of fisher folk from Urur
Kuppam, Olcott Kuppam and Odaikuppam( Kuppam means fishing village), children
of coolies, daily wage earners, house maids, auto rickshaw drivers, small business
hawkers of flowers and eats on the Besant Nagar beach from Damodarapuram,
Lakshmipuram, Dideer Nagar, Mallippu Nagar, Kakkan Colony. These areas are pockets
in and around Besant Nagar where the poor live in close proximity to the rich. Elite
owners of Besant Nagar’s well designed, modern apartments, houses and new cars;
and distant new outskirts like Thoraipakkam and Neelankarai where some of the
families displaced from places like Mallippu Nagar and Dideer Nagar have been
settled by the Chennai Corporation authorities. With classes one to ten and two
divisions in each class it offers education totally free to the children.
Books, notebooks, uniforms, a porridge breakfast, a noon meal are provided free
to these children by the Olcott Education Society (OES). The educational arm of
the Theosophical Society an international organization with headquarters at
Chennai - http://ts-adyar.org/,
Asha Portland, Oregon has approved the project in October 2002 and Deepa
Srinivasan is its Project steward at the US end. (It is an Asha Stars project
and is also to receive part funding from Asha Portland.)
In December 2002 the first funds went towards 2 computers and also 10 month
fees for a digital K-10 program of Schoolnet India running in the school. $1850
reached the school in rupee form by end March 2003. The fee was paid to
Schoolnet till June 2003 on 28th March 2003.
2 multimedia computers were added in early April 2003 increasing the computer
strength from existing 4 multimedia computers (3 had been acquired through
earlier donations, 1 in the school’s office was purchased for the school). On a
trial basis the Internet facility has been provided in the computer in the
office. The computers have been networked. The school has vacations from mid
April 2003. From 15th April, as many as 48 students from classes 8-10 are
working with the guidance of 2 teachers, an alumnus, and some older students
who had learned to use the computers during the last academic year on the
existing few computers. The children use the computers in rotation from 9am in
the morning to 4pm in the evening, grasping quickly, and creating little power
point presentations. Some of the more experienced students are working at
creating lessons for the smaller classes in English (4 and5)- the second
language taught in the school. They have been able to draw some very good
pictures with the mouse, download pictures from the Internet for these
presentations. These experiences are helping the students increase the ability
to read English and comprehend the language. The second batch of twenty five students
will commence on 15th May.
The lessons created by the students are being vetted with the
teachers and will be used in the AV Room in the coming academic year.
The school is very happy that it has won an award from Intel- the national
level award for Best Integration of Technology into Curriculum-Year 2002, under
the category of exemplary use of limited resources, The award carries a
technology grant of Rs one lakh, which the school will use to improve their
language laboratory to help children with further bridging the digital divide
caused by the difficulties in learning English as a second language. The
Project will be greatly helped if more computers and other digital equipment
can be adsed quickly with the help of understanding donors and well wishers.
The experience and learning material created in this school is and will always
be willingly shared with other schools- especially with Asha Supported schools.
Organization Description:
Olcott Memorial High School is a school that has 750 children from the poorest
sections of society. The school caters to children of fisher folk from Urur Kuppam,
Olcott Kuppam and Odaikuppam( Kuppam= fishing village), children of coolies,
daily wage earners, house maids, auto rickshaw drivers small business hawkers
of flowers and eats on the Besant Nagar beach from Damodarapuram, Lakshmipuram,
Dideer Nagar, Mallippu Nagar, Kakkan Colony, the pockets in around Besant Nagar
where the poor live in close proximity to the rich, elite owners of Besant
Nagar’s well designed, modern apartments, houses and new cars; and distant new
outskirts like Thoraipakkam and Neelankarai where some of the families
displaced from places like Mallippu Nagar and Dideer Nagar have been settled by
the Chennai Corporation authorities. With classes one to ten and two divisions
in each class it offers education totally free to the children. Books,
notebooks, uniforms, a porridge breakfast, a noon meal a! re provided free to
these children by the Olcott Education Society (OES), the education arm of the
Theosophical Society an international organization with headquarters at Chennai
- http://ts-adyar.org/
Asha for Education, Portland chapter
15797 NW Wismer Drive, Portland, OR-97229
|
Comments, suggestions or problems?
E-mail us at asha_pdx@yahoo.com
|
